Hero
by Toby Black
Summary: A songfic to the song Hero. JKR owns the characters. Written pre-book seven . Please read and review and let me know what you think.


_I am so high, I can hear heaven  
I am so high, I can hear heaven  
Oh, but heaven, no heaven, don't hear me  
_

  
A lone girl stood at the window overlooking the Quidditch Pitch in the Gryffindor common room. Her wavy brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, out of her face. The girl's face was covered in dirt and dried blood that had flowed from the gash on the left side of her forehead. Her dark brown eyes were almost black from fear and anger as she looked down at the wand fight occurring down on the grounds. Long shadows were cast as the sun sank behind the trees of the Forbidden Forest and Hermione quickly lost track of who was who as the light faded. Strong arms encircled her from behind as a crystal tear slid down her cheek. "They're dying out there. And we're stuck in here, only able to watch from a distance. Harry could be dead by know for all we know," she said softly, more tears falling from her eyes.

"I know love. I wish we could be doing something as well, but they told us to protect the other students," Ron replied, resting his chin gently on Hermione's head. At his words, however, the girl pulled away and turned to look around the common room. Everything was silent except for the occasional muffled sob, even though almost the entire surviving remainder of the house was present, sitting in the various armchairs, couches, or on the floor.

"They're Gryffindors, all of them, and I know they can take care of themselves." Hermione said softly, eyes scanning the room and resting for a moment on each person she had really come to know in the last seven years. "I have to help him." A determined look appeared on the young witch's face and with surprising speed, she moved away from Ron and up the stairs to the girl's dormitories. Reaching the dorms for the seventh year girls, she pushed open the door and walked in just as the stairs turned into a slide as Ron attempted to follow her up.

"You can't do this Hermione!" he called up the stairs from the bottom.

"I can and I have to," she replied before closing the door and blocking out any further comments. Walking over to her trunk, Hermione knelt down and rummaged through it, searching for a leather bag. Pulling it out, she opened it and extracted a small potion vial. Inside was a silver liquid that shone like moonlight. Steeling herself, she uncapped the bottle and poured the contents into her mouth. With a grimace, Hermione swallowed the potion. Picking up the bag again, she pulled out another vial and shoved it in her pocket while placing the leather bag back in her trunk. Turning, she walked over to the door, opened it, and stepped out onto the stone slide.

_And they say that a hero can save us  
I'm not gonna stand here and wait  
I hold onto the wings of the eagles  
Watch as we all fly away  
_

  
Ron looked up as Hermione slid to the bottom of the steps and stood up, dusting herself off. "Don't even try it Ron," she said, walking over to a window while pulling out her wand. "I've made up my mind. I'm not going to let Harry fight against him by himself." The girl aimed her wand at the window and shouted, "Elido!" With a shattering of glass, the window exploded outward. Small shards of glass and the metal framing could be heard banging against the sides of the tower as they fell to the ground.

"Have you gone mental?" Ron asked as Hermione walked over to the window and climbed up onto the sill. "You're at least seven floors up, if not more, you can't land that."

"I'm not going to try and land it," Hermione replied as the animagus potion she had just taken began to take effect. She began to decrease in size and dark brown feathers appeared all over her body as a sharp beak grew from her face and yellow eyes replaced her chocolate brown ones. When the transformation was complete, an eagle sat where Hermione had just been. With a soft chirp, the eagle spread her wings and lifted off of the ledge, flying down towards the wand fight.

"Why do you have to do this?" Ron questioned to silence as the eagle vanished from view.

_Someone told me, love will not save us  
But how can that be?  
Look what love gave us  
A world full of killing  
And blood spilling  
That world never came_

And they say that a hero can save us  
I'm not gonna stand here and wait  
I hold onto the wings of the eagles  
Watch as we all fly away  
  
A lone eagle circled above the two sides of the battle, barely visible against the backdrop of stars. The bird's head moved from side to side, sharp eyes scanning the mass of people below. Finally, as the bird passed through the moonlight, it spotted what it was looking for. Angling its wings, the eagle dove down towards where a tall, lean figure with black hair and emerald eyes stood fighting against the Death Eaters along with a few other Order members. When she was still three feet off of the ground, Hermione transformed back into a human and dropped to the damp grass below, landing in a crouch next to Harry.

The raven haired boy jumped slightly as she appeared next to him, but upon realizing who it was, he turned his gaze back towards the Death Eaters, who were still busy firing off spells that lit the night with silver, red, yellow, and the all too common, green glow. "You shouldn't be here. You were ordered not to come," Harry said, his voice strained.

"And leave you to die on your own?" Hermione snapped back, immediately pulling out her wand and firing off attacks of her own at the hooded and masked fighters. "I couldn't do it Harry," she continued, in a softer, sadder voice.

"How did you even get here?" Harry questioned, instinctively moving back to back with his friend, making both of them a lot less vulnerable.

"I flew. It was the only way. I took that animagus potion that I brewed for my NEWT final in Potions. It worked. This one's for you." Digging into her pocket, Hermione pulled out the second vial. It's silver contents glittered in the moonlight as she pressed it into Harry's left hand. Still firing off spells, the boy uncorked it with one hand and drunk the contents down, making a face as they passed over his tongue to slide down his throat.

"That stuff is…"  
Harry never finished his sentence because at that moment, he dropped to his knees, palms pressed to his forehead where a lightening bolt shaped scar had been since he was a year old. At the same time, a high, cold, mirthless laugh could be heard echoing across the Quidditch Pitch. In a movement that was almost choreographed, both Death Eaters and Order members ceased in their battling as a dark figure that seemed to radiate evil swept slowly across the field, eyes fixed on one location. With some difficulty, Harry forced himself to stand as he shoved the pain that was threatening to rip his head in two from his mind.

"Potter." Voldemort hissed, red eyes smoldering as they looked over at where Harry and Hermione stood together.

"Tom."

_Now that the world isn't ending  
It's love that I'm sending to you  
It isn't the love of a hero  
And that's why I fear it won't do  
_

  
A wide, roughly oval shaped space appeared as the Death Eaters and Hogwarts Defenders drew backwards. On one side were the forces of light, the other, the minions of the dark, and in the middle, stood three figures. One in long black robes, his hood thrown back, revealing a completely bald head with glowing red eyes and only slits for nostrils. The other two were also clad in black robes, but these had the crimson and gold trim of the Gryffindor house. "You can't beat me Potter, and your little mudblood can't do anything for you either." Voldemort hissed, fingering his wand with the long, pale, spider-like fingers of his right hand.

"You're going to die tonight Tom. You should have died long ago and it's time for you to pay your dues." Harry responded, also holding his wand at the ready in his right hand. Instinctively, he shifted his position so that he would be between the Dark Lord and Hermione.

"Very well, if you wish, we will end this tonight, but know little _boy_, it is not I that will be perishing tonight, but yourself and your little mudblood included. AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The green bolt shot out of Voldemort's wand and headed straight for Harry's heart, but he was already in action, jumping and diving to the left as Hermione did the same to the right, causing the deadly curse to split the difference between them and gouge into the pitch some fifteen feet behind them. "EXPELLIARMUS!" Hermione shouted and a red beam shot out of her wand at the same time as a stunner was fired from Harry's.

"Hermione, get out of here." Harry called as another green bolt light the darkness, this one narrowly missing the boy as he dropped to the ground.

"No." Hermione replied as she fired a severing charm at Voldemort, this time managing a glancing hit on the Dark Lord's left arm and a darker spot appeared on the sleeve of his robe as blood soaked the fabric.

"You will die for that insolent mudblood." Voldemort hissed, his voice deathly quiet. Both Harry and Hermione were suddenly forced to look around as their opponent seemed to vanish before their very eyes. Out of no where, a large snake suddenly rose up before the girl and was about to strike when a tawny colored blue shot across the distance between Harry and Hermione to impact the snake.

"HARRY!" Hermione yelled as lion and snake fought, clawing and striking at each other, both to fast to be hit by the other but to slow to land a strike themselves. The girl was paralyzed by fear and could do nothing but watch as the two animagi fought each other fang and claw. Even if she had been in control of her body, Hermione wouldn't have dared use magic for fear of hitting Harry. Suddenly, the two froze and for a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, sat, eyes locked on the others before they flew apart, as if batted in two different directions by some invisible giant. As both landed, they lost control of their animagus forms and were forced back into their human ones.

Finally, Hermione regained control of her body and ran over to Harry's side, kneeling down next to him as he pushed himself up into sitting position. Tears ran down her face at the sight of him, her heart breaking as she finally realized and accepted that the man she loved, as well as herself, could very well die that night.

"Hermione, please, don't stay. Escape while you can." Harry begged, his emerald eyes as well as his voice pleading.

"I can't leave you Harry. I just can't. Harry, I love you." Hermione said, tears still falling down his face.

And they say that a hero can save us  
I'm not gonna stand here and wait  
I hold onto the wings of the eagles  
Watch as we all fly away

And they're watching us  
They're watching us  
As we all fly away  
  
Harry opened his mouth to respond, but watched as Hermione's eyes suddenly glazed over. A second later, she began shaking and collapsed into a heap on the ground, convulsing. Looking up, Harry saw the triumphant look on Voldemort's face. "First you will watch your mudblood die Potter. Then it will be your turn." The Dark Lord said, his voice eerily husky as he fought to keep control of Hermione's mind.

Kneeling down next to Hermione, Harry put a hand on both of her cheeks and spoke softly to her saying, "Fight him Hermione. I know you can." Leaning over, he kissed her on the lips, letting his love for her flow out of him and into her. With a cry of pain, Voldemort stepped backward as he hastily pulled out of Hermione's mind, unable to bear the agony that the young couple's love caused him.

"Hermione," Harry said softly, when she didn't move. Placing his fingers on her neck, he felt for a pulse and was relieved when he found one. It was faint, but there was still a pulse.

And they're watching us  
They're watching us  
As we all fly away  


  
"TOM!" Harry yelled as, eyes blazing, he rose and looked straight over at Voldemort. In the same motion, he brought his wand up and aimed it at the center of his chest. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" he shouted and a bright flash of green light erupted from the end of the wand of the boy-who-lived. It flew the ten feet that separated himself and the Dark Lord and hit Tom Riddle square in the chest, sending him flying backwards. He was dead before he hit the ground and for a moment, there was complete silence over the Quidditch Pitch. Every single person stood, staring at the limp body of the man that had once been Tom Marvalo Riddle. The silence was only broken when, as a whole, every single Death Eater collapsed to the ground, clutching their arm where the Dark Mark was burned into their skin and screaming.

They're watching us  
They're watching us  
As we all fly away  


  
"Hermione." Harry sobbed, dropping down to his knees next to the woman he loved and pulling her into his arms.

"Harry, is he dead?" Hermione asked weakly, her voice barely audible to Harry as the Order of the Phoenix began cheering behind the two.

"Yes, he's dead, but only because of you. Hermione, I love you. I think that I always have, but I just didn't realize it."

"I love you too Harry." Hermione replied, a faint smile appearing on her face as she reached up a hand and gently ran it along the side of his face. "And I always will." At this time, Hermione gave up her fight against the darkness. Her arm fell limp, back down to her side and the last thing she saw before her eyes closed were Harry's emerald eyes, misted over with tears.  



End file.
